A/N: Went through freaking Legend of Korra in like two days. The ending left me hungry for more. I actually planned this story out, and there's more or less a concrete direction this is going, so I'll be updating this as frequently as I can. Hell yeah. Enjoy, review if you like.
The streets of Republic City are clean and peaceful. This is what I notice the most as I walk down its avenues and streets. The shops' doors are wide open, free from the fear of destruction and intimidation from the street gangs and triads of years before. The people chatter and mingle openly with one and another. No division of bender and non-bender that I see. People appreciate me now a lot more than they used to. When I visit restaurants I always get a "Greetings, Avatar Korra," and a complimentary dish. I get smiles, children want my autograph. It's a welcome change from those first chaotic weeks in the City three years ago.
I appreciate change. It's a good thing. Republic City has changed since Amon – well, I guess I should call him Noatak these days – and it's for the better. My beat takes me through Ember Town, the biggest Fire Nation ethnic enclave in the City, but it's completely different from what it used to be. Whereas before you would never see open bending in the streets, I see a group of Fire children playing a mock game of pro-bending. I give them a stern order to stop of course - it's a dangerous sport even with protective gear - and they quit their game with sheepish eyes.
I splash them with a bit of water and their shyness turns into childish giggles.
I walk my long, lazy circuit until eight o'clock. It's starting to get late, and with the sun turning the sky above Republic City a hazy orange, I start the return leg of my beat back to the precinct. I try to keep in contact as much as I can with the people of the City, despite my 'status' of Avatar. So, to Tenzin's approval and Lin's pragmatic protests – she thinks it's unbecoming – I spend most of my days out in the streets keeping the peace. Talking to people. Meeting whatever needs the City expresses. It's actually fairly low-key. I mostly break up drunken fights and catch the odd thief or two. Haven't had a good murder in ages.
On the steps of the 5th Precinct I find Mako, lounging with that roguish ease that drives me crazy. He greets me with a wolfy grin.
"Hey Avatar Lover-Girl," he says.
"I have no idea who you are," I tease. He laughs and rises to encircle me in his arms. I mock squirm, protesting that I truly have no idea who he is, but then I relax into his warm hug.
"How'd it go today?"
"Nothing real. Some kids were playing a pick-up Pro-Bending match, so I broke that up. Before that I had to persuade a guy to not beat up this poor vendor that accidentally sold him a rotten apple," I shrug. "No biggie"
"It never ceases to amaze me that you haven't gotten bored of doing this yet."
I shrug again.
"I'm the Avatar. I serve the people, in whatever capacity they need. Right now they need Officer Avatar. Three years ago it was General Avatar. Who knows what I might be a few years from now"
Mako nods and lets me go inside to punch off the clock. It feels weird. It's like despite being the balancing force of the Human World twenty-four-seven, I'm only actually getting paid to do it for nine hours a day. Funny thought.
"Avatar Korra!"
I turn at the sound of Chief Saikhan's voice, somewhat out of place in the 5th Precinct. As we shake hands I greet him with a curt nod.
"Chief Saikhan."
"Avatar, I'm glad to see that I caught you before you left. I have some urgent news that you need to hear," he says.
I resist the impulse to ask whether or not this can wait. I'm a little concerned of the fact that the Chief came out to the precinct to inform me of this development in person. Still, I don't want to keep Mako waiting. I flash him a "five minutes" gesture through the precinct's window, and turn my attention to Saikhan.
"What's the matter?"
Saikhan steps closer to me and speaks in a more subdued tone. "I don't want to cause panic or anything like that by releasing this information publicly, but I needed to let you know that we've been getting more and more reports of fire bending attacks over the past week."
"What? Fire bending attacks? That's the first I've ever heard of this. Why wasn't I informed?"
To his credit, the chief looks somewhat apologetic.
"We were under the impression that these were isolated incidents. And none of the attacks were major crimes. Assault, thievery, that sort of thing. Small-scale. We've only recently determined that the events are related."
He shows me a printout daguerreotype of a small dragon symbol sewn on a piece of cloth, coiled among itself and breathing out fire.
"The attackers have been leaving handkerchiefs with this symbol on it with their victims. We never made the connection between the handkerchiefs because none of the victims reported the object."
"None of the victims reported their attacker leaving behind a token of the attack? That makes no sense. Why would they do that?" I ask.
The Chief lets out a long sigh.
"That's the part that worries me. The victims are without exception non-benders. They were instructed by their attackers not to turn in these handkerchiefs until today's date. That's how we know this is all related."
Well, shit.
There hadn't been any large-scale bending-based discrimination in recent years, up until this very moment. I contemplate the significance of the cloth.
"Whoever is behind those clothes is obviously trying to make a message," I say. Saikhan nods in assent. "And the fact that the attacks have been on non-benders suggest that there is some form of premeditated discrimination going on."
"Right. We summarized the same at headquarters. It seems like an organized gang of fire benders are targeting non-benders. There are no suspects in custody so far, and from what the victims tell us, the fire benders all wear uniforms and masks. No way to identify the attackers on the street."
I look at Saikhan in the eye.
"We need to handle this carefully. Who knows about it so far?"
"Just my investigative staff and the victims themselves. They aren't aware that there are other victims other than themselves. I decided it would be best to put off any press release before we have the formal investigation underway."
"Good. I'll start investigating this first thing tomorrow. Can I have that daguerro?"
The Chief complies and hands me the printout. It's an interesting symbol. A Fire Nation dragon coils itself in a circle, in the old style, and breathes out a jet of red fire. From Aang's memories, I can tell it was a common symbol in the Fire Nation's armies. I stow away the printout.
"Thanks for letting me know about this Chief. I'll let you know once the investigation is underway."
The chief tells me he'll appreciate that, and together we walk down the steps of the precinct onto the City pavement. It's already dark out.
"Avatar, Mako," the chief nods, and leaves Mako and I alone on the sidewalk.
"Sorry about that. Got caught up." I apologize.
"No problem. What was that all about?"
"Uh…" What the hell. Mako might not be a cop, but he's Team Avatar. "I just learned that, apparently, fire benders have been making organized attacks on non-benders for the past few weeks. They leave this handkerchief," I show him the printout, "with their victims. They ordered the victims not to reveal the handkerchief until now. Somebody is trying to send a message."
Mako takes it in silence before sadly shaking his head.
"You'd think people would have learned after Amon," he says. He brightens up though, and gives me his most charming smile. "Let's just forget about it Avatar Korra. Tonight it's just you and me."
I rid myself of negativity and smile. Mako's right.
He drapes an arm over my shoulders and we head towards the Antarctic Circle, the Southern Water Tribe's biggest enclave in the city. It's the best place in the City to get authentic Southern Tribe food.
We get our usual table at Innika's, and before long the food and Mako's company makes me forget all about the troubles of Saikhan's conversation. Mako is quiet all of a sudden, and he gets this look in his eyes like he's not looking at me, he's looking at me, and he whispers in my ear.
"I love you Korra."
And the words send shivers down my spine.
We finish the meal and leave Innika's in silence, content to have each other's company. It's a beautiful night out. I love looking up and seeing the stars. They look back down at me, and I make out my favorite constellations. Mako kisses the top of my head, and I reach for his lips. They're soft and warm, and it's several seconds before we part to breathe. We start walking back towards the ferry to Air Temple Island.
The sounds of the city are distant. I hear the Satomobiles far away, muffled down several streets and the twinkle of house lights reaching out in every direction. Before long, I'm in my room, staring at the ceiling in silence.
The handkerchiefs.
Forget that. Try to sleep, I tell myself. I roll on my side. But I can't shake the feeling that something in the future is lying in wait for Republic City. It was the same feeling I had when I first learned about Amon and his equalists. A hollow pit in my stomach. Something ominous in the back of my mind. There's no doubt about it.
It's alright, I think. I'll be on the case tomorrow in the morning, and that'll be that. Stop worrying too much about it. I shut my eyes and before long, I'm asleep.
I wake to the sounds of the morning Air Temple routines. The children aren't up yet, but one of the acolytes is already doing his rounds and feeding the air bison. I look outside at the sun. Seven in the morning. Time to get up.
I dress quickly and find breakfast already set on the table on the Temple's veranda that looks north out across the Yue Bay to the City. All is good. Today I'll head to headquarters and start assembling a case file. Maybe check out the witnesses and have a word with them. Try tracking down whoever made the handkerchiefs. Should I research the history of the dragon logo? I don't know how significant the drawing itself is. Hmm.
I resolve to contact Lin Beifong and ask for her advice. She was the one who taught me everything I know about investigating. Her help will be huge. We'll see how it goes.
I clear my mind and set to eating. The view of the Republic City is amazing from the Temple. The entire south end of the city is visible, and I can begin to see some of the early risers starting their day. Fishermen are already casting out lines in the bay. Harder to make out, but still visible, are the groups of children going to school. Rowdy, loud, full of life; they are quickly organized by their teachers into ragged single file. And off they go marching into the school. I laugh as I remember my own childhood.
An fireball consumes the school and all of the humans in view. A few seconds later the sounds of the explosion and the cries of pain reach my ears. The fireball rises in the sky and explodes, sending out hellish spouts of fire across the city, landing in hot globules and quickly burning through everything in their path. What the fuck. What the fuck.
I drop my breakfast bowl and scream for Naga. I grasp her fur – no saddle, no time for that – and dig my heels into her sides. She roars and we're running across the bay on a road of ice that I'm bending as we move.
Ahead, the tendrils of smoke are already rising.
A/N: There we have it. This story is going to follow a Korra that has grown up somewhat in the three years since the ending of the show. Next chapter should be out sometime soon. Hoped you enjoy it, don't forget to leave a review (: